Govt, MILF resume peace talks

Despite the siege in Zamboanga City involving members of the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF), the Philippine government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) resumed negotiations on Tuesday in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

The two panels continued talks in a bid to arrive at a deal on the two remaining annexes on power sharing and normalization of the Framework Agreement on Bangsamoro.

“The 40th round of GPH-MILF formal exploratory talks started today at 10 a.m.,” the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process (OPAPP) confirmed.

MILF peace panel chairman Mohagher Iqbal expressed hope that this meeting would be the final one.

“There is hope of signing but not sure,” Iqbal said, referring to the signing of the last two remaining annexes of the FAB–power sharing and normalization.

The annexes on revenue generation and wealth-sharing was signed in July.

The panels will hold talks for at least 10 days.

“Talks will last until September 19,” Iqbal said.

In their last round of formal exploratory talks, both parties said that they have achieved “substantial progress in the discussions towards finalizing the Annexes on Power Sharing and Normalization to the Framework Agreement on the Bangsamoro.”

The parties, in a joint statement, said they worked toward the resolution of some of the most crucial issues.

”Despite the sensitivity of these issues, the Parties remain committed to the problem-solving approach in order to reach consensus,” they said. “In the spirit of partnership and mutual understanding, they are confident that an agreement will be reached soon.”

1 Comment

I hope the recent conflict between the government and the MNLF is not going to affect whatever the government and the MILF agreement that is soon to be signed. However a potential conflict might develop between the MNLF and the MILF, since we are talking about the same area. In retrospect, why the MNLF is acting up now when you are already close to the finish line? Were they invited to join in at the start? I hope at the end of the day that real peace in Mindanao is achieved by your efforts. Would like to thank the MILF and the GPH for their relentless effort to find that illusive peace in Mindanao. God bless.